Do we move around more than prior generations of Americans? Are we less religious, more violent, and more indifferent to the needy? Are we more greedy and materialistic? Claude Fischer takes on these subjects and many more in Made in America: a Social History of American Culture and Character. You will be surprised by many of his findings and develop a more nuanced view of American history. I think one of the reasons we have such a different view of American history than what Fischer paints is that we have mostly heard about the upper classes and how they lived, rather than the majority of Americans.

Fischer's book is concise, which may leave you wondering how he can draw such big conclusions with so little evidence until you realize that there are 102 pages of notes and a 107 page "Work Cited" section at the end of the book. Plenty of information for those who want to look more into his conclusions.